1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for rolling sheet materials and particulate burnable material, such as leaves or the like, into tubular shapes, and more particularly pertains to a log rolling apparatus which permits sheets of flammable material, such as newspapers or the like, to be rolled into log shapes so as to facilitate a burning thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is generally well known to take sheets of flammable material, such as newspapers or the like, and to roll the same into compact, tight log shapes for the purpose of burning them in fireplaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,499, issued to P. Albee, Jr. on May 25, 1976, illustrates a newspaper log maker which effectively consists of a pair of vertical standards having circular bearings at their upper ends, and a main shaft positioned between the bearings and rotatable in response to a crank arm attached thereto. A clamp bar is formed as a portion of the main shaft so that an edge of a newspaper may be clamped thereto, and the shaft may then be rotated manually through the use of the crank arm, so as to roll a plurality of newspapers into a log shape. While this construction does facilitate the manufacture of newspaper logs, it inherently possesses the disadvantage of not being able to roll logs which include the use of flammable materials that are not in sheet form. Further, the Albee, Jr. device requires a disassembly thereof each time a log is rolled, since it is necessary to remove the main shaft so that the newspaper log can be removed therefrom.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,299, issued to C. Porter et al on Aug. 2, 1977, discloses a device for the manufacture of paper fire logs which includes the use of a shallow open top tank having a liquid contained therein and an axially slotted shaft removably positioned between opposed walls of the tank. Sheets of paper may be directed into the axial slot of the shaft and the same may then be rotated so as to draw the paper through the liquid and around the shaft into a log shape. Further, the Porter et al device employs both manual and powered rotation means for the shaft and, as with Albee, Jr., the shaft must be removed from the apparatus in order to remove a paper fire log therefrom. Additionally, the construction of the Porter et al device only permits a winding of sheet material upon the rotatable shaft and no means are provided for winding materials thereon which are not of a sheet-like construction. As such, there still exists a need for manufacturing fire logs in a manner which includes the use of non-sheet-like flammable material in combination with flammable sheets.